Chemical and biological discovery and chemical optimisation projects typically require an extensive and expensive range of laboratory infrastructure. The technology that is required to identify a new lead compound or to optimise a synthesis may make such projects unfeasible for small laboratories and small commercial enterprises. For chemists and biologists working in locations outwith the developed world, and far from large commercial suppliers of laboratory infrastructure, the development of new and optimised chemical and biological methodologies may be hampered by the lack of readily available reactionware, or a lack of choice in such reactionware. In these scenarios it is desirable to have access to technologies that are sustainable, decentralised (i.e. not reliant on close proximity to commercial operations in developed countries) and readily available.
Recent developments in chemical and biological reaction planning and reactionware have included work on, for example, microfluidic technologies and solid-phase reagents. However, these technologies do not necessarily lend themselves well to smaller laboratory environments, as the laboratory apparatus underpinning such work may be complex and may not be easily useable by those with access to a limited range of analytical and preparative tools.
The present inventor has looked to provide a system for the easy and ready preparation of reactionware, which system is easily and readily adapted as required. The present inventor has sought to provide a system that allows a user to bring chemical engineering to a standard laboratory work bench.